Updated: Final Score Patriots 35 – Ravens 31
This Saturday, on the frozen grounds of Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens will face off in the playoffs for the fourth time in six years.
There are plenty of fascinations around one of the NFL’s newest and most visceral rivalries. Of the three previous meetings, the Joe Flacco-led Ravens have come out on top twice. The only game they lost ended with a missed last-second field goal by then-kicker Billy Cundiff. Of the three previous games, two have been played for the AFC Championship. The Cundiff game in 2011 and the Ravens 28-13 win in 2012. All the games have been played in Foxboro.
Another stoking of the fire comes from the very real, very palpable hatred between Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs.
On Tuesday, Brady took the usual Patriot approach to talking about their weekend opponent. Singing praise instead of lending any bulletin board material for the Ravens. That came doubly when asked about Suggs.
“He’s just a smart player,” Brady said during his media session. “We’ve played against him a bunch of times. He takes away a lot of stuff. I have a lot of respect for his ability to play the game at a high level; he’s phenomenal.”
When Suggs was presented with Brady’s adoration for him?
“Say what?,” Suggs responded. “Did they record him? Like they had a camera? I would love to see his face.”
A cool response for Suggs, the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year, who in years past has been much more colorful in his declaration of his hatred for the Patriots. Some of his greatest hits?
“Those are the most arrogant pricks in the world, starting with Coach Belichick on down,” Suggs said after the 2012 Ravens victory. He continued, “[T]ell (the Patriots) to have fun at the Pro Bowl.”
In an E:60 interview with ESPN, Suggs was asked his feelings about Brady.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate for camera, ” Suggs answered. “I don’t like him. He don’t like me. I don’t like his hair. I don’t like his smug attitude.”
These playoffs bring a new chapter to the Patriots-Ravens rivalry. Many key players from each respective team are gone from the rosters of that last postseason meeting.
The Ravens, especially, have a revamped roster from their 2012 Super Bowl winning lineup. Offensively Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin are gone and defensively Arthur Jones, Dannell Ellerbe, Paul Kruger, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and the “Patriot killer” Bernard Pollard have all moved.
The Patriots lost Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Aaron Hernandez, Logan Mankins, and Aqib Talib.
It’s been two seasons of remolding for each franchise and plenty of new faces will enter this rivalry for the first time. One newcomer on the Ravens will be receiver Steve Smith, who joined the Ravens this off-season after 13 seasons with the Carolina Panthers. But Smith very possibly could have joined the Patriots, who had targeted Smith as a serious addition.
“I think flights were kind of…they had a little bad weather, ” Smith said via ESPN.com, on why he failed to make the trip to New England. “And then also, this is my first time being a free agent, everything was new to me. I just went in there just not thinking about what was lined up and just taking one trip at a time and going with my gut.”
What’s done is done and the rosters have been established. The road to the Super Bowl has turned back to Gillette Stadium and the stakes have been set. Here are the key match-ups to watch for in Patriots-Ravens IV.
Bryan Stork vs. Brandon Williams
The guys in the trenches never get any love, but this match-up is pivotal to this game. The Patriots offensive line turmoil was well documented at the beginning of the season. A big factor, maybe the biggest, in stabilizing the unit has been the emergence of Stork. A fourth-round draft pick in the 2014 draft, Stork took over the center position in Week 4 and has got better every week since. He ended his time at Florida State by winning the National Championship, the Remington Award for best offensive lineman in the country, and being named an All-American. He will be counted on to keep Williams at bay.
Williams, a third-round draft pick in 2013, has become the long-needed anchor in the middle of the Ravens 3-4 front. This first Missouri Southern player drafted since 2007, Williams has emerged as a stalwart in his second season. His massive size (6’1″, 335 lbs) and strength allow him to collapse the pocket and getting to Brady will be the number one focus for this Ravens team.
Torrey Smith vs. Brandon Browner
Patriots’ shut-down corner Darrelle Revis will more than likely cover Steve Smith. That leaves Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith to draw Brandon Browner. Smith, has top-end speed which can take him over the top of a defense. While he is second on the team in receptions (49) and yards (767), Smith leads the Ravens in touchdown receptions with 11. Standing at 6’0″, Smith is a bigger target but the size match-up favors Browner.
Browner is 6’4″ and has about twenty-pounds on Smith. A former member of Seattle’s “Legion of Boom”, Browner sets the tone for the Patriots defense with his physical play. However, his size and tenacity has gotten him into penalty problems this season. Smith, will have the speed advantage over Browner which means Browner could get help from safety Devin McCourty.
Jamie Collins vs. Justin Forsett
Collins, in his second season, has emerged as a spark for the Patriots defense leading the team in tackles with 116 and forced fumbles with four. Not to mention he has also blocked a field goal. Collins showed his potential late last season as he earned more playing time down the stretch and into the playoffs. Collins, out of Southern Miss, has the sideline-to-sideline range to wrangle in Forsett and the Ravens zone-running scheme.
Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak brought his zone-running game with him from Houston and it has worked so well that you wouldn’t even know Ray Rice was no longer on the team, if you just looked at the numbers. Veteran journeyman Forsett, has been a revelation for the Ravens, rushing for a career high 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns. Forsett, also gives Flacco a safety valve in the passing game with his pass catching ability. He has 44 receptions on the season.
Terrell Suggs vs. Nate Solder
It all comes down to Suggs and Brady in the end. Suggs has only sacked Brady once in the post-season and that was back in the Ravens 2009 Wild Card victory. It goes without saying that Suggs would love to tally another against his enemy. In the other two post season games Suggs has at least hit Brady once in each. For the Ravens to win they will have to get to a recently fleet-footed Brady and his offensive-line which has given up just 21 sacks this season.
For the Patriots to continue to keep their quarterback’s jersey clean, Solder will have to step up to the plate. His play has been less-than desired as of late and in the final game of the season against the Bills, Solder tweaked his knee. Solder is fine to play on Saturday and has expressed his readiness for the Ravens. A surprisingly feisty showing from a typically calm Solder.
